


Burning Desire

by Ipomia



Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: Closure, F/F, Ghosts, Sad
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-01
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 03:27:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27317749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ipomia/pseuds/Ipomia
Summary: To avoid going to the Halloween party, Chloe agrees to go with Max and a couple of her friends to do something else. Little did she realize that meant trespassing into Arcadia Bay's graveyard. At least Chloe can spend her time talking to the dead.
Relationships: Maxine "Max" Caulfield/Chloe Price, Rachel Amber & Chloe Price
Comments: 7
Kudos: 9





	Burning Desire

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Night Shift](https://archiveofourown.org/works/26878597) by [Rainboq](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainboq/pseuds/Rainboq). 



The lesser of two evils. At first glance, it seemed like a no brainer. Go to the Halloween bash with Kate and Victoria, or hang out with Alyssa and Stella doing normal teenager stuff on All Hallows' Eve. What Max didn't tell me, was that normal teenage stuff was doing a fucking seance in a graveyard. Arcadia Bay's _only_ graveyard. This shit wasn't fun or exciting when you personally knew a couple of the people in the ground.

I couldn't stand to be a part of their "festivities" for twenty seconds. Still, if I had to be dragged out here, I might as well have put forth the effort to talk to stones. It really was just me talking to myself. I knew that, deep down. Still… what else was I supposed to do?

Sitting down, I leaned against the side of the familiar headstone. I took a swig from a bottle of cheap liquor I grabbed from my truck the minute I found out where we would be spending the evening. Talk about a good reason to get unsober. "I know… you're disappointed in your little girl," I said to the wind as I tugged a cigarette free and lit it. "I smoke pot, too. It's… been fucked up since you've been gone."

Taking a long drag, I closed my eyes, trying to summon his image from my past. Anymore it was more like… a feeling. His actual face, his voice… they were fading with the years. "I feel like I'm losing you, a little bit at a time." Another burning drink of alcohol. "Rachel's dead, too, now. I don't… I don't think I've been by since I found that out to let you know. Not that you ever met her."

Another long puff from my cigarette. "Shit. Did I visit when I came here for her service?" That day I felt so hollow and empty, and I was neither sober nor in a good frame of mind. "I did, didn't I? Did I tell you about her?"

I pulled my jacket closer to myself, trying to ward off the cold October night. "She was my first love. Oh, yeah. I'm hella gay. Don't think I remembered to tell you that one, either." I sighed, resting the back of my head against the cold, smooth stone. "Shit." I threw the half-finished cigarette off into the darkness.

I leaned forward, gathering up my knees in my arms. "But… hey. Max is back in town. She got a scholarship to Blackwell. She didn't fuck it up like I did though. Funny how she turned out to be the better daughter, huh? I… I'm sorry I couldn't live up to your hopes. I know you wanted me to go far. Be a fucking genius graduating from some ivy league college and changing the world."

Tears stung my eyes as I cried into my knees. "I'm sorry, Dad. All I managed to do was drop out and become some junkie loser. And the worst part is that I never even tried. After I lost you I just… It hurt so much! I loved you so, so much."

"Fuck," I muttered, drawing a sleeve across my face as I sniffled.

"I'll never do all those things you wanted for me, but I'll be damned if I won't live my life to the fullest," I nearly shouted as I rocked back and forth a bit. "I-I'm gonna get my GED. Max and Kate are helping me with that. I'm gonna go to whatever college is close to the one Max goes to. O-or do some online shit. I dunno."

I shook my head. "Right… Max. I forgot to mention we're a thing, now. I don't know what it is, but she sees something worthwhile in me. If I can do anything to help her, I will. So… I guess this time next year, I will finally have left this dead-end town for bigger and better things."

All those years, ever since this stone I leaned against was carved, all I wanted in the world was to get out of Arcadia Bay. Now that I would actually escape in a matter of months, thoughts of things and people left behind haunted me. "I know I never visited like I should've. And now that I'll be leaving… I'll visit even less. P-please don't hate me for it, but I have to go. If I want to make something of my life, actually make you fucking proud of me… I gotta get out of this pit."

I got up, wiping my cheeks dry. "For the longest time, I hated you for leaving me. I hated Max for leaving me. I hated this whole fucking town for trapping me in this neverending nightmare I could never seem to escape. But Max… She came back. She's helping me to wake up and to see things like I should." Taking another swig from my bottle, I turned and placed my hand on Dad's tombstone. "I still hate that you're gone… but I don't hate you for leaving me. That wasn't your fault. I… I love you, Dad."

Sniffling, I swiped at the new tears as they escaped my eyelids. "I'll come back and visit. I promise."

Emotionally drained, I staggered away from Dad's graveside. I just couldn't deal anymore. Not without throwing a fit or breaking down completely. Probably both, one then the other.

Not too far from the entrance, I found Max and those two friends I never knew existed were sitting on the ground with lit candles around them. As I got closer, I realized it was a fucking ouija board. They were trying to reach the spirits here. Fuck that.

Gripping the bottle tight, I gave it a deep swig. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I shouted as I stomped over to the trio.

Max shot to her feet, putting herself between me and the fucked up ritual. "Chloe, I'm sorry. I didn't realize…"

I stepped by her, standing over Alyssa and Stella. Holding out the bottle, I pointed at them. "This is fucking hallowed ground, you dipshits."

Max's hand limply fell on my arm. "Come on, Chloe. Let's just go back to the truck."

"Yeah, you're screwing up the energies with your bad attitude," Alyssa said.

I threw Max's hand off. "Fuck you and your energies!" I said as I stomped over, stepping on the board and knocking a candle over.

"Hey!" Alyssa said, trying to pry free the board. "This isn't some cheap made in China board! It's a one-of-a-kind carved from a hanging tree."

"Like I give a shit!" I bit back, stomping down the urge to start swinging. "None of you gets it!" My eyes flitted between the trio, not one of them understanding just how it felt to lose someone so close, then to come to their final resting place to play some juvenile game about fucking with their eternal sleep.

"Chloe! Let's just go!" Max pleaded, again grabbing my arm.

I tried to wrench my hand free again, but Max held on better than I thought, and I fumbled the bottle, sending it spilling over the board. The liquid found the overturned candle, and Alyssa and I both had to scramble away to prevent getting caught up in the fireball. Even Max and Stella took a few big steps back from the rapidly growing blaze.

"My board!" Alyssa shouted, holding out her hands at the fire.

The fire shifted, going from a red-orange to an eerie blue-green. "Fuck, Chloe. Since when did you get so bitchy?"

That voice…

 _Her_ voice. It came from within the small fire. In the green glow of the fire, a shape formed within the smoke. _Her_ face. "R-Rachel?" I asked, my voice cracking as I stared at the ghostly visage in the smoke.

A quizzical look crossed her features as her head tilted slightly. "Did… you hear me just now?"

"Jesus Christ, Rachel!" I nearly stormed into the flames to try to touch her, but my hand fell through the hot smoke, only pain and heat touching my fingers. A hiss escaped my lips as I pulled my arm back.

"It… It's really her. Rachel Amber," Stella said, her voice filled with wonder.

Rachel looked over at Stella, then back to me. "You can actually see me? Hear me?"

"Fucking, yes!" I said, agonizing at seeing that ghostly face and not being able to touch it. "Rachel…"

"Chloe, I'm so sorry. For everything," Rachel said, her voice wavering. Though the smoke obscured her features, I saw tears on her cheeks.

"What? No! This shit is my fault. If I'd just gone with you to that fucking party. I-I could've…" My voice failed me as I started crying. "You didn't have to die. And that's… i-it's my fault."

"Chloe, you couldn't have…" Her voice sounded far away as if she were far down a tunnel. Even her face started to fade away as the smoke dwindled.

"The fire! Shit!" I shouted as I looked down to see the green flames dwindling. The alcohol-infused fire already ravaged the candles and board, leaving little fuel left for the magic fire. "Hold on, Rachel! I'm not letting you go!" I dug in my pockets. All I had that could burn was my pack of smokes. It went in without a moment's hesitation.

I heard a ripping sound, and I found Max wadding up a blank page she'd ripped from her journal. She fed it to the flames, doing far more than my barely-flammable cigs. "Don't just stand there!" I shouted at Stella and Alyssa. "Find shit that'll burn!"

With Max feeding the fire a steady diet of dry paper, I could clearly see Rachel's face again. "Can you hear me?" she asked. I watched as her arm outstretched, but the moment it reached the edge of the smoke, it just vanished into nothing.

"Yes! I'm right here, Rachel!"

"Chloe, you couldn't have known what fate I earned myself. You couldn't have stopped it," Rachel said. "Even if they didn't get me at that party, they would've done it sooner or later."

"But I… I could've—"

Rachel shook her head. "I dug my own grave, Chloe. All because… because being happy was never enough for me." Her hands covered her face as she shook her head. "I'm so sorry, Chloe! If only I'd realized how good we really had it…"

Her voice started to get that faraway sound to it. But thankfully, Alyssa came running with a few small branches in her arms. "Bad news," she said as threw the sticks down and started snapping them into tinder and feeding the ethereal fire. "They must've just cleaned the grounds. There's practically nothing to burn."

"Rachel, I know… I know you were just trying to get us out of here!" I said as the flames grew around the sticks and Alyssa ran back to find more fuel.

"No," Rachel said with a shake of her head. "It wasn't just running away. It was me, reaching for things I could never have because I was stupid, and selfish, and thought that I deserved it."

"Rachel—"

"Shut up and listen! I don't know how much longer this will last," Rachel barked, forcing my mouth shut as I stared into those hazel eyes, their color muted in the smoke. "I've had a lot of time to think, to reflect on my life and what I did wrong. My greatest regret isn't getting myself killed. Chloe… I never deserved you, and even though I didn't, I still treated you like shit."

"No, you didn't! You were there for me during one of the worst parts of my life. You were always there for me, making my shitshow of a life bearable," I shouted back at the smoke.

Rachel shook her head. Her lips moved, but the sounds were so distant, I couldn't make them out. The few sticks that Alyssa fed to the flames already dwindled to nearly nothing. My heart pounded in my chest as I saw the last few flickers of green fire lapping at the charred husks. I couldn't lose her. Not again. "We need more fire!" I shouted.

"I'm out of blank pages," Max mumbled as she dug through her bag.

"Here!" I looked over to see Stella with a garbage bag over her shoulder. "I found this over by the road," she said, tearing the plastic away to reveal the bag's guts: dead leaves.

"Throw 'em in!" I shouted.

Stella threw a couple of handfuls in before getting up. "I'll try to find more. You got this, Max?"

Max nodded. "Go."

"Chloe?"

I shuddered, that voice stirring up a hundred memories. "Rachel! Stay with me!" I begged, not even bothering to swipe at the warm tears dripping down my cheeks.

"I can't, Chloe. You know that," Rachel said. "I'm dead."

"Fuck that!" I barked at her. "You're right here, right now!"

"And I won't be much longer! You know that!"

Her words cut through my heart. She spoke the truth, and I did know it. "I just… I missed you so much! You didn't deserve what happened to you."

Rachel hugged herself. She spoke softly, "Didn't I?"

"What? No!" I shouted back into the smoke.

"Chloe, I was a narcissistic, manipulative bitch that thought she was better than this shitty town. You didn't see it because I manipulated you, too. I used everyone around to try to get things I didn't deserve."

"So, you did some shitty stuff? Who hasn't! That doesn't mean that you… you deserved this!"

Rachel shook her head. "I… I never would have learned what really mattered. My whole life, I tried chasing after the stars—looking or some nonexistent euphoria and nothing short of that would have ever satisfied me." Once more, she reached out to me, only for her hand to disappear the moment it reached the edge of the green-tinted smoke. "Looking back… the only times I was truly happy, that I don't regret, were the little moments we shared together. Chloe… I…"

"Rache? Rachel!"

I looked down to find Max feeding the fire with the garbage bag itself, all the leaves already used up. It wasn't enough to bring Rachel's face into a clear view. "Alyssa! Stella!" I shouted, looking all around in the dark of the night. There wasn't a sign of either one of them.

I turned back to the dwindling fire. "Rachel! Please! Don't go!" I screamed, my voice raw and trembling as new tears bled free from my eyes.

I heard a _thwap_. Looking down into the fire, I saw Max's journal, photos and all, being devoured by the hungry fire. My wide eyes shot over to Max, her arms still outstretched where she threw it in. "Max…"

She shook her head. "You don't have much time."

I couldn't breathe. But Max was right. I couldn't afford to waste even one moment that she just bought me. Tearing my eyes back to the steady plume of smoke, Rachel's face came back into focus. "Rachel, there… there's not much time!"

"Then listen, Chloe," she said, her voice firm as she looked me in the eye. "I love you, and I always will."

"Rachel, I—"

"Let me finish! I'm sorry I treated you like a safety net instead of the most amazing, thoughtful, wonderful person I ever met. You deserved better than me." Rachel looked away, setting her eyes on Max, still sitting by the fire. "And I'm glad you found her. Max? You better treat Chloe like the treasure she is, or I'll haunt your ass until the day you die."

Max nodded. "You don't have to worry about that."

"Chloe… I'll always be here to listen, even if you can't see me. Please, don't let me drag you down even one more day. Go out there and be your badass self. I believe in you."

"I… I miss you," I said, staring into her face and doing everything I could to sear the memory into my mind. "I love you, and you're fucking crazy if you think I'll go even one damn day without thinking about you."

"Chloe." Rachel shook her head, and I saw fresh tears on her cheeks. "Don't worry about carrying our memory. I'll do that. Enjoy what you have now. You earned at least that much."

"Rachel…"

Rachel smiled, giving a whole new meaning to a haunting smile. "If you really want to carry a part of me with you, then just take over the world like we always wanted. You and Max."

Before I could respond, the skies opened up. A terrible _hiss_ banished Rachel from my life. Again. I fell to my knees as the freezing rain poured on us. She was gone. Taken from me for the third time.

I didn't even realize that I had started bawling until Max grabbed me, wrapping me up in her arms. Returning the hug, I let it all out, crying and screaming as we held each other in the cold rain.

**Author's Note:**

> As mentioned before, this was inspired by a story [Rainboq](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rainboq/pseuds/Rainboq) did a while back. I thought it would be perfect for a Halloween story, and so here we are. I hope you all enjoyed it!
> 
> Oh, and Happy Halloween!


End file.
